Zahnreich
Zahnreich has undergone many changes and hardships to make it the strong thriving pack it is today. Partially traditional, the pack is comprised of three families (one core family) that accepts rogues and recruits to continue growing. Once a brutal dictatorship, today the pack is harmonious and powerful in their unity and devotion to one another. Current Roster Pack Lifestyle Zahnreich is a close-knit pack of different families that live a life ruled by the tides and bounty of the waters around them. They've undergone many hardships, so while they appear carefree the wolves of Zahnreich are always ready to defend their home and boast a large Military with several officers. At times there can be a general sense of unease or paranoia, as they have come to expect the worst. Despite their hardships and readiness, the pack wants nothing more than peace within themselves and any neighbors. For the most part they are a happy lot, very accepting though wary of strangers, and enjoy a sort of utopian existence where they've chosen to roost. 'Relaxed Lifestyle' Unlike some packs, every wolf doesn't need to perform some sort of task. Instead wolves are encouraged to seek a task that will make them happy and fulfilled. Having no job at all and just enjoying life is equally acceptable. 'Stories & Lessons' Young wolves are often regaled with stories of the adventures of their ancestors and hardships past generations have faced. These stories often have lessons woven into them warning youths to be cautious but brave. Not many stories are shared among the old, as most have lived them. 'Multi-lingual' All wolves born within the pack are taught to speak German, as the language has great significance in their history especially when they escaped from Haus Broholm. New recruits need not learn the language, but children must. 'Painted Bodies' This tradition was passed down from Solitair Black whose family often used dyes for their females as makeup. Over time painting has become rather symbolic. Artesans can create designs based on ones rank and position within the pack. Hierarchy Ranks are a combination of hierarchy and occupation. Besides the Alpha, Heir, and Beta ranks most of the others are flexible with some even being added depending on what a wolf does within the pack. Even so, many have been stationary for generations. Alpha Pair & Heir The Alpha Pair is the leading mated pair of the pack. Though there is no gender superiority, one partner sometimes has more command than the other merely because of personality traits. The Heir is often their offspring who shows the most promise for leadership. 'Betas' Second in command, Betas are often wolves trusted by the Alphas and chosen to be leaders in case the Alphas can no longer rule (if there is one Alpha). They are often wise, compassionate, and intelligent. 'Captain' Captains are the top warriors of the pack in charge of training the Officers and scheduling out their routines. Captains lead charges and will often go on missions that require a great amount of strength and proficiency in battle should things get dicey. Officers Officers comprise the packs army. These wolves are trained and skilled in combat and listen primarily to the Captain. They are also charged with scouting and protecting the pack from outside threats. Shepherds Normally there are only 2 Shepherds. Although the entire pack participates in hunts, Shepherds are particularly skilled in understanding prey and are the ones who lead parties and often attack first. They are also good at tanning and butchering. Fishers A relatively new rank, Fishers are now well prized within the pack as they live alongside the sea. Fishers are excellent at understanding the waters tides and habitat and are great at securing large amounts of food for the pack from the sea. Botanist Botanists spend their time studying plant life. Their skills are used for anything from supplying dyes to the Artesans to healing sick wolves and even tending to pregnant mothers. Artesan Artesans work with dyes and perfumes to create beautiful paints that are often used within the pack to denote rank and positions or for pure beauty purposes. Wolves, Elders & Youths All those without a rank are put in these categories. Elders are wolves over 10 years of age while Youths are wolves under 2 years. Founding History Zahnreich was originally known as Gnawbone Cadre and was founded by Brago Moore and Nightfall Kytan. They were a sect of Sunspire that broke off and lived on the opposite mountain, but decided to leave as Brago felt they could not grow properly under the shadow of the larger pack. Brago moved his family and adopted children to a new location where he intended to build a warriors pack. He was harsh, cruel, and domineering until one day his son Corbin had enough and defeated his father in a match for leadership. From then the pack took a different direction. A great rivalry between Corbin's sons Falko and Rudolf caused his chosen heir to leave as Rudolf was the first to gain a mate. Once he became leader however, the pack began deteriorating as he ruled with an iron fist. All wolves of the pack were forced to serve him, over hunt, and indulge his every fancy until one day a young wolf named Faeden claiming to be Falko's son appeared and challenged him. By this time Rudolf was fat and unpracticed and lost almost immediately. Falko returned along with his new family and the pack was rejoined. Peace returned for many years only to be shattered when a fire unexpectedly ravaged their home! Lives were lost and with their homeland destroyed the pack decided to migrate to Faeden's birthland. On the way they were enticed into joining up with another large pack Haus Broholm, but had no idea they were being manipulated. Rudolf overheard the Chief speaking in German to his adviser, plotting to keep the pack and overtake them, taking their women as their own. He warned the others, and they plotted their escape along with others of Haus Broholm (women and pups) who wanted a better life. They created a diversion and escaped, but were found out by one of the guards. Rudolf stayed behind to allow his family time to escape and was later killed having made amends for his past crimes. The pack eventually settled in a secluded area, and changed their name to Neusreich. There were some other packs nearby, but as they were either too far away or hostile to outsiders, they decided it was best to keep to themselves. Neusreich enjoyed relative peace. A friendly pack called Firefly Cadre moved in nearby and Faeden's daughter, Saoirse, now the Alpha, grew close with their Beta. Peace though was shattered again when a wolf came and terrorized the land and all in it. He killed their Captain Drusus, and raped one of their warriors Vistilia. Finally, Saoirse challenged the rogue wolf to a death match and defeated him, sustaining serious injuries in the battle. Due to this and age, she passed the pack down to her daughter Fáilte. Over time the pack grew, becoming so large that hunting was starting to get difficult. They tried to negotiate what to do, but nobody wanted to leave the pack and splitting up seemed like it would add no benefits. So they stayed together until one year when they experienced high litter death, something they'd never dealt with before! Finally they had no choice but to leave. The elders of the pack however, knew that they'd never survive such a journey and thus decided to stay behind and join up with Firefly Cadre. It was a sorrowful parting but one they all knew had to happen. Their journey for a new home started in spring but took a very long time. When winter came they took residence in a forest and discovered they had neighbors. Although tentative, the packs eventually got to know one another and helped one another survive the winter. However, when spring came again they knew there wouldn't be enough food to go around and so they continued on. Eventually during their wandering the pack came across a small Peninsula housing one large mountain. It was surrounded by flatlands with mountains in the distance and ocean ahead of them. There was plentiful fish, shore birds, and occasionally a herd would migrate through. Elated at their finding, the pack decided to settle there and changed their name again to Zahnreich (Realm of the Fang). 'Present Day' Today Zahnreich continues to live on their Peninsula, enjoying the life they have earned and creating new traditions while honoring old ones. They welcome newcomers, but are as always cautious.